The Buccaneers will place the franchise tag on left tackle Donovan Smith between now and the March 5 deadline, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. At the same time, Stroud hears extension talks are going well, so a long-term deal could be hammered out between now and the extension deadline for franchised players on July 15. 
Smith, 26 in June, has started in every single game for the Bucs since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2015. He not exactly a star on the offensive line, but the Bucs do not want to lose him at a time when it is hard to find reliable tackles.
Smith graded out as just the No. 46 ranked tackle in the NFL last year, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His so-so 66.4 score was roughly in line with his scores from the previous three seasons.
Tagging Smith would cost the Bucs $14.077MM for the 2019 season. A long-term deal, presumably, would call for upwards of $10MM per year. That’s a big chunk of change for an average starter, but Dolphins free agent Ja’Wuan James is also expected to clear that hurdle if he reaches the open market in March.
Dudes middle of the pack. Would b interesting to c if moved to RT and they possibly draft a LT if he would rate better.